Fernando M. Reimers et al.

talking during this round. The students are not permitted to look in the
pond in this round. Complete the data table after each round of fishing.

ROUND 2

In this round there will be the common pond (cup 1, with the same rules as
last time) and a private pond (cup 2, which will have one pond per student).
The students can talk in this round and can look in the pond while they are
fishing. It will be possible to see how many fish are available at all times. The
private pond can hold only four fish. The common pond still begins with
sixteen fish. Each student must take at least one fish from each pond dur—
ing each round. Each student may remove as many fish as he or she Wishes
from each pond, as before. The fish will reproduce (they will be taken to the
teacher, as they were in the last round) after this round. Complete the data
table after this round of fishing. Upon completion of this round, the stu—
dents should answer the questions in the “analysis” section of the lab sheet.
(See the “Tragedy of the Commons” lesson plan.)

After completing this activity, the students should choose an environmental—
management issue to which the idea of the tragedy of the commons is
relevant. They should research the issue thoroughly, and create a multimedia
presentation that is presented to the class in the form of a brochure,

PowerPoint, or mock newscast.

Activity 6.4.3

The Opportunities of the Commons

The teacher explains to the students that they are shifting gears from tragedy
to opportunity: they will next examine the important role that common
spaces have played in history. The class will be divided into groups, and each
group will be assigned a common area (e.g., a park, a common, or a square)
that was influential in history. These areas could be famous or infamous for
the rallies and protests held there, for the military stationed there, or for the

executions or public events that occurred there. For example, students may

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